The Wind and the Clouds
by Josef Mojave
Summary: Cloud was lost in the life stream, the last thing he remembered was Tifa reaching out to him. As his Materia and the Mokoro energy in his veins melted into the life stream it changed him. He washed up on the Centra continent... Squall/Cloud slightly AU
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or VIII or any of the characters or places in those games. _

_A/N:I just went on a Squall jag. When I replayed FFVII I realized that Squall and Cloud really are the same person, aside from hair, hair color and the fact that deep down inside Squall really isn't a wimp (I still love Cloud though). I am having fun exploring different aspects of Squall in my diffrent cross over and FFVIII stories. I hope you like it, and please comment. It's what reminds me to post more._

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After he slipped into the life stream he had given up all hope. He reached out for the dark haired woman, but he had already forgotten her name, his memories slipped away as the eerie green liquid blocked out everything else. He felt that he was sinking into a bottomless pit, to the center of the planet or maybe just into oblivion. He felt something hot burn through his bracer and into his arm, lightning, counter, Shiva, Choco-Mog, sense, Ultima, phoenix, comet, destruct, cover and Bahamut Zero all fused into his consciousness. The Makoro energy melted through his equipment and clung to the Jenova cells, filling his body with the knowledge of the Centra and the secrets of the planet, connecting to something inside of him that he had been able to keep dormant.

"You're just a failed experiment!" the man in white, with the thick glasses had said, a ghost of him floating before his eyes. "You don't deserve a number!"

"Please! Please give me a number!" He shouted, the life stream flowing through him, and everything went black.

"Please, give me a number!" he begged, finding the darkness unbearable.

"Eight." A smooth, deep voice whispered back. "Is eight alright?"

He opened his eyes slowly and found himself in a strange room, the style was obscenely romantic, arches covered in blue, luxurious drapes and carefully designed blue and sliver wallpaper covered in scenes form the ocean. It filled him with a feeling like being enveloped in the ocean's tide, but safe at the same time. _Ocean… stream…_ "Life stream…" He muttered, startled by his own voice. "The life stream, where is the life stream?" He said in tears, his sense of self flying apart.

"What is the life stream?" That deep voice said airily, a hint of tenderness and discomfort sneaking past his well built mental walls. He could sense the voices energy, the power of his spirit, the grim determination, the softness hidden behind layers of emotional barriers and mental walls, they were similar to his own, but the man inside was much stronger than him. He finally looked up to the man, who had spoken, and upon analysis he looked more like a boy, he couldn't have been older than eighteen. He was slim and on the short side, his limbs were long and lithe, he was a bundle of muscles, tension and power. He could have been a SOLDIER first-class; the passion of his aura could be felt across the room and made him feel weak in his presence. But he wasn't a SOLDIER; he was a SEED rank S. He wore tight leather pants that covered the tops of his black well polished boots. His leather bomber jacket had a lining of white feathers that almost paled against his creamy alabaster skin and it covered a plain white t-shirt. He wore black gloves that fiddled with a thick silver chain hung around his slender neck. There were three heavy belts clinging to his slim curvy hips. He licked his lips subconsciously and caught the boy's eye, they were a swirl of both blue and grey at once, like a gathering storm and they betrayed more emotion than his body language, the curve of his plump pink lips, the wrinkle in the scar over his well defined nose or the expression on his lean softly curved face. Strands of feathery chocolate brown hair fell into his eyes, making him look irresistibly beautiful, he had such full lips and thick lashes, and he would have been mistaken for a girl if there weren't something there, something distinctly male.

"I…" He sighed for a moment, taking in the scenery then coming back to himself, his cheeks flushed lightly. "The life stream is the flow of life, the energy of all living things and the will of the planet." He said sitting up slowly, his entire body hurt.

"Oh, that explains it." The boy said aloofly, no change in his expression but a glint of doubt lingering in his eyes, he rubbed his fingers over the bridge of his nose, worrying over the scar as he lost himself in thought. "Do you know what happened?" He asked after a time. "Do you know how you ended up off the coast of the Centra continent?"

"Centra?" he said with a jolt. "You mean the Ancients?" pain shot through his temples as he started to remember. _Ancients, Centra and Life Stream_ resonated in his mind.

"…" The man said scrutinizing every aspect of him. "What is your name?" he asked finally.

"… You called me eight…" he said softly. "That's my number, you can call me eight. Who are you?"

"Squall," he said simply.

"Am I in Centra?" eight asked uncertainly.

"No… we found you by an old lighthouse on the Centra continent. We brought you back to Balamb to see a doctor. There still hasn't been reconstruction since the sorceress war." Squall said as a matter of fact-ly.

"Sorcoress?"Eight asked confusion in his Mako blue eyes. Squall let out an almost in audible sigh.

"So… how much do you remember?"

"A current pulling me in and names…" Eight said softly.

"Names?" he said quirking an eyebrow.

"Centra, Ancient, Life stream… Jenova… Sepheroth, Zacks, Vincent, Nimbelheim… Cloud?" Eight said, his voice wavering at the name that once was his own.

"Cloud?" Squall said with a smirk, thinking how easily the name fit his own, the wind and the clouds that make up a storm. He almost let the smile slip out as a short bouncy brunette entered the room.

"Yay! Looks like you're awake!" She said with a giggle. "You even have Squall smiling, so you must be something special." She said with a bright smile, reaching her hand out to him. He looked at it apprehensively. "I'm Selphie, what's your name?"

"… Eight."

"Eight?" She said wrinkling her nose. "That's not a name, it's a number. I have to call you something better than that. Didn't I just hear Squally say cloud? You look like a Cloud to me," She said with a giggle.

"No… I…" Cloud protested.

"It's a nice name, isn't it Squally?" She said, making him frown.

"Yeah, I guess." He said with a tiny smirk.

"It's settled then. Welcome to the team Cloud." Selphie said with a giggle, Squall shook his head and glowered.

"What team?" Cloud asked with a confused little smile, he liked the idea of joining a team.

"Ignore her," Squall said looking back at Cloud. "We'll send you home as soon as we figure out where to take you," He said reassuringly.

"Oh…" Cloud said with a frown, of coarse they wouldn't accept him… he was a defect anyway.

"Look Squally, you hurt his feelings." Selphie said poking Squall in the side mercilessly. "He tries to pretend that he doesn't need any of us, don't let him fool you," she said with a little giggle.

"Selphie, who's flying Ragnarok?" Squall asked, looking back at her with a frown.

"I left Zell in charge," just as she spoke the words the cabin shook. "Okay, I'm taking charge again," she said jogging out of the room. Silence pored over them and Cloud felt more and more useless. He couldn't tell them how to get home, he didn't know where he was… and he didn't want to be a burden.

"We'll be back to Garden soon…" Squall said to fill the silence.

"Garden? What kind of garden… like the church in sector seven?"

"You're kidding right?" Squall said with a frown. When Cloud didn't respond Squall let out a heavy sigh. "Garden is a mercenary organization; we take on jobs from the different states and train new recruits. If there is ever an emergency… like now, we… protect the planet." He said. The description felt ridicules, anyone who didn't know what Garden was had to be an idiot. But Cloud didn't look like an idiot, with those bright blue eyes.

"Are we on the surface? How far are we from Midgar?" He asked with a frown.

"… As soon as we get back to Garden, Doctor Kodikawa will look you over and then we'll do our best to send you home."

"Thank you… Why is a mercenary organization bothering with someone like me?" He asked a little bit confused.

"You want to be on your own?" Squall asked narrowing his eyes meanly.

"No! I mean… no, its just I didn't think that the leaders of an organization like that would give the okay to waste time on a civilian…"

"Well, since I'm the leader, I say we have time for that," Squall said fiddling with his jacket.

"Oh, Thank you… Sir."

"Just call me Squall, I get so sick of being called Commander…" Squall frowned and looked back at Cloud, he hadn't spoken to anyone this much in weeks. He had no idea why he was so compelled to speak to a complete stranger; a complete stranger who seemed about as vulnerable as a kitten and confused as hell. "I have some paperwork I should be getting to… you rest it should be a couple hours before we reach Balamb." Squall said rushing of the room.

"Wait…" Cloud said, but he was already gone.


	2. Chapter 2

_ A/N: Hey Thanks for the review, just to clarify (I can be a stickler for details) in the 1999 Brady Games Official strategy guide that came out with the game Squall is listed as 5' 8".I do agree that sometimes he looks a bit bigger in the game but I usually look up character's physical characteristics i.e. height, eye color etc. because think it's the details that give stories the right feel. I love Squally and FF8 and FF7 too so I'm glad there are at least a few people out there willing to humor me in my story _

After they landed back in Balamb Squall had Selphie escort Cloud to Dr. Kodikawa's which she did happily. Cloud looked around the garden slowly, admiring the marbled floors at the front gates and the tropical plants adorning the square of the court yard. The main building was magnificent and beautiful like a puff of crème but it was a sky blue laced with yellows and reds and a dark ring of blue around the center. He had never seen a building like this in his life, but it filled him with the unease of an unfamiliar world.

"Come on, no need to dawdle, even though she may be intimidating she really is very nice Cloud." She said grabbing his hand and pulling him through the gates and past all the students in deep blue uniforms.

"Where is Squall?" Cloud asked softly, but Selphie didn't hear him. She pulled him though the main corridor and down a glass walled hallway. They entered the medical bay and Selphie pushed him back onto the medical bed, with a little smile.

"Now you wait here, Dr. Kodikawa will be here soon. I have a class to teach on drawing and junctioning complex spells in a few minutes so I can't stay, but I can come back in a couple hours and show you around," she said patting him on the shoulder.

"Okay…" he said looking around at all of the strange medical equipment and the crystal clear walls surrounding him. He looked back at her, into her light brown eyes and smiled softy. She was sweet and comforting.

"Don't worry; she'll only want to do a few blood tests and a physical, see if anything you have Junctioned in there caused your memory block." He nodded, even though he didn't really know what she was talking about.

The examination was the only part about this world so far that didn't unnerve him. Dr. Kodikawa introduced herself briefly and then asked him a myriad of questions that he didn't know the answer to.

"Do you remember the last spell that you Junctioned?" she asked, drawing another long syringe full of his blood and pulling a scanning arm over the bed.

"I think it was counter…"

"…Counter?" she asked pushing her glasses back for a moment. "That's a skill, not a spell…"

"Oh… Sorry. Maybe lightning then?" He said, looking up at her with those peculiar eyes.

"Try not to move," she said stiffly. Dr. Kodikawa picked up a small recorder and focused on his face. "Now, look into the light for me."

Cloud waited around in the infirmary long after the examination. He had asked Dr. Kodikawa if he could leave but she said had promised the commander she would look after him until Selphie arrived. A long silence stretched as Kodikawa went over her charts and Cloud kicked his legs nervously as they dangled above the ground.

"…Doctor…?"

"Yes?" she said looking up from the chart nervously.

"How did someone so young and idealistic become the leader of a military organization?" Cloud asked with the blankest, most innocent expression. Doctor Kodikawa snorted and set down her chart.

"Idealistic? I have heard the Commander described many ways; stern, taciturn, grumpy, but idealistic? That's new."

"Well in my experience military leaders would generally be disinterested with a random floater…"

"Where you're from? Deiling?" she asked looking at him skeptically. She wasn't sure if he was feigning interest, over the last couple of months many Deiling spies had tried to infiltrate the garden, but if he was a spy this wasn't any standard infiltration. He had no serious injuries but he reported pain and she could see that the pain receptors all over his body were constantly receiving signals the entire time she scanned him. And his blood was quite peculiar. She had heard of Esthar doing this sort of experimentation during the first Sorceress War but since then no one who had the technology would have continued.

"No, I'm from Midgar… above the surface…but I don't remember much."

"The surface of what?"

"The Planet…"

"Hyne that is the silliest cover I have ever heard."

"Cover? You think I'm a spy?"

"For someone who is not a spy you seem strangely attuned to what my suspicions. And for an amnesiac you have a strange focus on military procedure. I am actually quite surprised that Squall picked you up, especially with that weaponry."

"What weaponry?"

"It was in the commander's report. They must be storing it in the research division of the training wing. It was infused with a very strange energy…"

"Can I have it back?" Cloud asked stiffly.

"You will have to speak to the commander about that."

"Where is he? I'll ask right now…" Cloud asked hopping off of the examination table.

"Selphie will be looking for you. Sit back down."

"But…"

"As you yourself observed earlier, he is the leader of a military organization. Squall has a great deal of work to do and he doesn't take visitors without either an appointment or ranks B through S" Doctor Kodikawa said, picking her chart back up and walking over to the console where she got another peek at his blood work. "Frankly, you won't have clearance to see the Commander until I have finished your tests and submit a full report."

"He didn't seem so cautious," Cloud said earnestly.

"Oh he's not, but the Headmistress gave me strict orders to give you the full work up and to send you to her before you are cleared from medical."

"Headmistress? His wife?" Kodikawa let out another snort.

"No she's not his wife. He's barely 19 actually…" Kodikawa paused and looked at the date on one of her monitors. "19 next week. Headmistress Trepe is was his Professor before he took over the gardens. If you feel up to it Selphie can take you to meet her right away. She will ask you a lot of questions, but it's better to get it done with before too much time passes. She is who you need to see about a room assignment."

"So this is a school? I thought it was a military organization…"

"Both, Garden takes the most gifted children and pays for their education while training them to become SEEDs. It is not quite the same as an all adult military complex, and honestly we do not have too many members much older than Squall because the organization was founded after the end of the last war and our target recruits are 12-14 depending on their dexterity and mental acuity."

"So I would be too old to join?"

"Well… 21 is a bit old, but looking at your physical condition and seeing the specs of your weaponry and armor I assume you have military training… from where again?"

"SOLDIER, in Midgar, it was a mercenary arm of an energy company." Cloud repeated for the third time. He know it was only rational for her to be testing him but he hadn't asked to be there and being in an examination room for so long was bringing back bad memories.

"Soldier is a silly name."

"No sillier than seed," Cloud said staring down at his shoes. "You know… I'm not dangerous."

"That remains to be seen Mr. Cloud."

"I'm not…"

"Everyone who enters these doors is dangerous to someone as I am sure you are too."

"But I'm not dangerous to anyone here. I don't even know how I got here—and I don't mean to this building I mean where he found me."

"Do you want me to call Headmistress Trepe and have her give you the run-through now? You could probably use some rest…" He couldn't tell if she was really concerned for his health or more interested with getting back to her research, either way he was ready to leave the infirmary.

"Okay."

Cloud was less surprised at Quistis' youth and beauty since Dr. Kodikawa had told him that most members of the organization were young but he had not imagined that the Headmistress would look so inviting, the sternness he had expected but she possessed a quality that he had noticed in Squall, softness.

Quistis reeled when she entered the room, the energy emanating from him making her woozy.

"Hello, my name is Quistis Trepe; I am the Headmistress of Balamb Garden."

"Nice to meet you… I am Cloud."

"Do you have a last name Mr. Cloud?"

"No… I think I did… but…"

"Alright Mr. Cloud, let me escort you to my office where I can continue your interview." She said heading out of the room without giving him a moment to respond.

As Cloud followed Quistis across the garden to the elevator he noticed all of the young faces in blue and grey uniforms, before he had been focused on the dreamlike architecture but now the sea of young faces drew his attention. He noticed a handsome blonde with a face tattoo and a tall auburn haired man with a cowboy hat and a long duster eyeing him as he entered the elevator with the Headmistress, he didn't mind the way their eyes raked over him, both violet and blue but he tried not to entertain those thoughts for too long as he stood in the elevator's silence. Quistis' boots made a sharp click with every step on the black marble floor as she stepped out onto the fourth floor. Cloud noticed grand doors to one side and a smaller set to the other.

"My office is this way." Quistis said steering Cloud away from the large doors and into her quartered off section of the world. Cloud saw the force field around the room as he walked into it, the light blue energy rushing over him as she watched him enter. "So you're not a sorceress… but what are you?"

"I'm a man…."

"Well yes, Dr. Kodikawa's scans did confirm that but looking at your blood work, that's not all you are."

"I… I'm soldier…." Cloud said with a frown, trying to think about his cells made his head hurt.

"Where did they do the experiments on you?"

"… 7…."

"Excuse me?"

"N….Nimble…" Cloud frowned for a long moment. "Nimbelheim…?"

"And where is that?"

"I… I don't know…."

"Have you junctioned any GF lately?"

"The doctor asked me that… no… I don't…"

"Will you give me your hand?" Quistis asked holding her hand out to him, as Cloud put his hand in hers her eyes turned white, she trembled for a moment and then blue energy poured over him and probed the spells that were now a part of him. "Shiva?" She said as she let go of his hand. Quistis shook her head and collected herself for a long moment. Her legs wavered underneath her and he caught her only to have her squirm out of his arms weakly. "No, don't touch me. It's too much," she said leaning out of his arms and onto her big wooden desk. "The energy in you is definitely magical; it's too much for me to take."

"Are alright?"

"Yes… I will be fine," she said fiddling with her glasses for a moment as she straightened up against her desk.

"Are there more questions that you want to ask me?"

"No…not at this time. I believe that you are not a spy."

"So… can I have an appointment to see Squall now?"

"Not until the full medical report is released. Maybe tomorrow. Until then you will be assigned to the SEED dorms. Usually those rooms are reserved for our elite but I do not think it wise to house someone of your power with the students. You will be in 103, next door to Irvine Kinneas and Zell Dincht, two of your S ranked SEEDs and best instructors. I'm sure either of them would be willing to give you a tour or of the training facilities and the cafeteria. It would be helpful if we could get a sense of your training. It will help us discern where you're from and if there is a place for you here in the event that we cannot send you home as Squall would like to.

"Um… Okay… which one is nicer?"

"They are both very nice. Zell is a bit energetic, and Irvine is a bit catty but they are both good men and fighters."

"But who do I…."

"Just find your room in the dorm and I will send one of them over before dinner."

"Okay, thank you…"


End file.
